EUROPE-INBO 2014 Bucharest, Romania, November 2014

Workshop on River Restoration and NWRM

River Órbigo Restoration Project: an example of synergic implementation

of different European Directives

Rosa Huertas González Duero Basin Agency

(Spain)

River Órbigo Restoration Project

Some data about River Órbigo: • Basin surface: 4,990 km2 •Length: 108 km, part in Natura Network •Altitude range: 1,584 m •Regime: rainfall-snowfall •Average discharge under the natural regime: 40 m3/s •Peak discharge registered: 600 m3/s •Original geomorphology: braided (wandering) and meandering

Project and works funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment, belonging to the National Strategy for River Restoration

Project under the management of Duero Basin Authority

Comparison between 1956 and 2006.

River Órbigo Restoration Project

River Órbigo Restoration Project

Previous situation: Enbankment and channelization

Problems:

- Hydraulic malfunctioning

- Flood problems

- Urban planning and housing under risk conditions

- Impacts on aquatic ecosystems

- Expensive maintenance

- Different policies facing problems caused by the same situation

Approach: integrated approach, and river

catchment scale in the design of the project,

but 3 stretches to manage the works

Specific objectives:

•Recovering morphology and hydraulic capacity of the former stream bed of the river and its connectivity with the floodplain and improving longitudinal continuity

•Achievements in doing so:

• Increasing concentration times -> flood abatement -> flood risk attenuation (Floods Directive 2007/60/EC)

• Improving ecological conditions of the riparian corridor and the diversity of habitats (Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC and 92/43/ECC Habitats Directive).

• Demonstrative value: example of synergic implementation of different European Directives, and fits perfectly in the concept of Natural Water Retention Measures (Green Infrastructure)

• Costs reduction

River Órbigo Restoration Project

Works to improve lateral connectivity and dynamics by recovering natural floodplains along 25 km:

• Elimination of rock armour: 4.720 m

• Elimination of earth embankments: 8.710 m

• Movement of earth embankments away from the channel: 5.220 m

• Recovery of secondary arms:10.063 m

River Órbigo Restoration Project: main actions

-Works to improve longitudinal continuity:

River Órbigo Restoration Project: other actions

-Forest actions:

Modification of a transversal obstacle to allow the passage of fauna and sediment flow

Revegetation with riparian vegetation

-Recovery of 480 ha of flood prone areas with a high capacity to attenuate floods naturally - Greater infiltration rate and rate of recharge of the alluvial natural floodplains, soil fertilization

-Higher habitat diversity thanks to the increasing both longitudinal and lateral continuity and the recovering adjacent fluvial areas -Integration of the river in the urban setting so improvement of the landscape and strenthening of tourism and leisure opportunities -Drastical reduction in maintenance costs

River Órbigo Restoration Project: benefits

before

after

• Winter 2013 160 m3/s flood and 2014 250 m3/s flood– comparable to

those in 1995 and 2000 causing serious damages – flood abatement, no damages now.

Recovering room from the river proved to prevent damages caused by floods (Floods Directive)

•Monitoring of topographic changes and morphological changes: hydromorphological indicators

Change in the ecological status of the water body (WFD and HDirective)

THESE ARE REAL FACTS THAT HELP

TO COMMUNICATE AND CONVINCE

River Órbigo Restoration Project: monitoring

Órbigo river monitoring by drone

Public Participation Process: communication

is a key to success Why was it needed?

- Recovering floodplain natural functioning implied losing some using possibilities: housing, farming, limitation to poplar plantation

- Project based on the principles of flood attenuation clashes with a mentality stemming from several decades of channelization and reduction of natural floodplain works

- To overcome the local approach: importance of the river as a corridor where every action involves upstream-downstream effects

How was it carried out? - More than 3 years and 50 meetings throughout

all the project: project drafting, implementation and monitoring, with local authorities, stakeholders and population as a whole

Volunteering and environmental education program

- Goal: encourage active participation and raise awareness about river

ecosystems - Targeted to all kinds of people, particularly those not taking part in the public participation process (children, youth, families…)

• Become a reference piece of work, visited by students,

technicians and professionals, authorities…

• Selected by several Universities to be studied in degrees and masters and by

the Ministry for its training program

• Selected for the field visit of the First Iberian Congress on River Restoration

• Video shooting

• Orbigo basin is one of the pilot basins in the ECRR River Restoration Community of Practice emerging from the last World Water Forum

• Finalist 2013 European Riverprize awarded by the

International River Foundation

Dissemination and training: demonstration value of the project to mobilize and convince

IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER:

- INTEGRATED APPROACH OF DIFFERENT POLICIES

- CATCHMENT SCALE OF THE PROJECT

- CLEAR IDENTIFICATION OF THE BENEFITS OF THE PROJECT

- RELEVANCE OF SOCIAL TOOLS TO COMMUNICATE THIS BENEFITS

- NECESSITY OF DISSEMINATION TO CONVINCE, MOBILIZE AND GET SUPPORT FOR NEW PROJECTS: this kind of solutions works!! and can be replicated in other rivers suffering the same problems

HOW TO INTEGRATE EUROPEAN DIRECTIVES AND POLICIES

THROUGH RR AND NWRM?

SHOWING WITH EVIDENCE THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS

THEY INVOLVE FOR PEOPLE

Conclusions

River Órbigo Restoration Project

Watch our video about the project

RIVER RESTORATION & FLOOD PREVENTION:

RIVER ÓRBIGO CASE STUDY

http://www.chduero.es/Inicio/Publicaciones/DVDsyAudiovisuales/tabid/586/Default.aspx